Eatonville School District
Teaching & Learning
This is the place to find updates for Teaching and Learning and information about current PL offerings.
Dear Staff,
Happy Friday! WE made it through the first week. It has been a pure joy to see all the students and staff back in the buildings. This is the most important time to make sure ALL students feel welcome and a sense of belonging. Please enjoy your weekend. I will be out to see you soon.
Fondly,
Diane
Thoughts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The collective belief of teachers in their ability to positively affect students, and their willingness to climb over barriers.
Focus More On The People Who Inspire You
Rather Than The People Who Annoy You. You'll
Get Much Further In Life
~Kristen Butler
Stop giving away your
power and realize that YOU
alone choose your energy
and your attitude and your
mindset everyday.
~ Mandy Hale
"You are what you do. Not what you say you do."
~Carl Jung
Moby Max
Hello teachers,
We've renewed our MobyMax license. If you're new to MobyMax, check out this 5-minute Getting Started video, or watch the Advanced Tutorial for a comprehensive overview.
MobyMax hosts free live training webinars several times a week. Click here for a schedule of upcoming webinars and directions on how to join.
One of the best parts about Moby is that you also have access to excellent customer service, easy-to-follow FAQs, and a robust video library.
Please do not hesitate to call (888-793-8331) or email (support@mobymax.com) at any time.
Thank you,
Scott Anderson
207-292-7297 | Schedule on my calendar
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MobyMax is here to help you tackle the COVID slide, no matter what your learning environment looks like. Ask me about our most popular features for blended, hybrid, and remote learning!
Travis Rush Technology Education Lead
Welcome Back!
It was so incredible to see all the students flooding the halls and the classrooms, I could not peel the smile from my face! I know that the start of the year has been a challenge for many in regards to technology. I thought that closing down and going remote was going to be a challenge but reopening has been more difficult than I realized. I feel that there are many avenues that I have not explored to support everyone, and for that I am truly sorry. You should be focused on teaching and learning and not “hoping” your technology will work. I am working closely with IT so we can maximize our time and get everyone going.
Coming up, I have scheduled the first meeting of the year for the BLTT’s (Blended Learning Teaching Team). We will be looking at Google Classroom, how to use it more effectively, and creating a PD for the district. The goal is that we target secondary, elementary and primary for the unique challenges that each level possesses. Every PD will offer STEM clock hours. If you are a member of the BLTT’s or would like to be, you also may earn clock hours for planning and helping with PD’s in your building. I have secured sixteen total STEM clock hours for the year, roughly eight for planning and eight for the PD’s themselves. Please let me know if you are interested in being part of the team!
The BLTT’s will be collecting data from the Administrators and their PLC and UDL work. This data will be used to create professional development opportunities for the district based on the needs from those meetings. I like to look at the PLC and UDL work as the theory or best practice, and the BLTT’s as helping to provide the tools to carry out the theory.
I am excited for a great year!
Training Opportunities:
From JEFF UTECHT
On Thursday, September 30th our 2-hour deep dive into the intersection of SEL and Blended Learning is happening with two different times available.
Starting next week our three part series (6 STEM clock hours available) on LGBTQ+ inclusion begins.
I’d like to offer a free seat to any new teachers you have in your (school district) this year. Additionally, if you have any returning staff who would like to join either opportunity, I think of your community as part of our community, so we're offering a 50% discount on both trainings.
All you need to do is respond to this email with names and email addresses of those new teachers you would like to include in the training as well as names and email addresses of any returned staff who might want to take advantage of this 50% discount. I will invoice your district directly if that works for you. Or if teachers are paying directly we can support that too.
On behalf of the Shifting Schools team, we wish you a happy back to school season!
If you are interested contact me! I will put you on the list!
Google Trainings:
Fundamentals Training
Welcome to Fundamentals training. By reading, watching videos, and doing activities, you'll learn how to integrate Google in your classroom. By the end of this course, you'll be ready to take the exam to become a Google Certified Educator Level 1.
https://skillshop.exceedlms.com/student/path/61209-fundamentals-training
Tools for Diverse Learners Training
Google's mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. We strive to continue making our products more accessible to users, including students with disabilities or learning challenges. As technology plays an increasingly large role in the classroom, think about how you might use different features to assist your students with disabilities or special needs, or anyone else who may benefit from them. When it comes to learning, there is certainly no one-size-fits-all solution that will resonate with every student, so it’s important to consider features that could be helpful in addressing your students’ needs.
https://skillshop.exceedlms.com/student/path/61214-tools-for-diverse-learners-training
UDL/ Inclusionary Practice Corner
In Its most basic definition, UDL is thoroughly knowing the concept you're going to teach and presenting that concept in different ways while engaging the students and encouraging them to express their knowledge in different ways.
The "universal" Concept means we can design a lesson with enough flexibility to work for all learners that remains focused on the same firm goals.
David Rose-"Most curricula are designed and developed as if students were homogeneous, and the most common approach to curriculum design is to address the needs of the so-called "average" student.
UDL NOW!
Your Biggest Questions Answered
As the 2021-2022 school year kicks off, the typical preparations are in full gear - lessons prepped, bulletin boards bedazzled, school supplies purchased, relationship building activities planned, and first day of school pictures snapped.
Although some things seem back to “normal,” there are also some twists as we transition to yet another year in Bizarro World. As we straddle between part normalcy and part unknown, there are a lot of questions about how we can start or support UDL. In this Back to School newsletter, we wanted to share some of the frequent questions asked in our professional development sessions.
Note: We will share our answers but they are not THE answers. If you want to contribute your own thoughts or if you have feedback on ours, we would love to hear from you. As always - UDL provides options! You can reply to this email, connect on social media, or send a carrier pigeon .
Q: Our school is starting to implement UDL this year. Where do I start?
First, UDL isn't something you "do" as much as the way you approach planning. So, I would advise approaching planning through the lens of UDL by asking, "What is the clear goal?" followed by, "What is one barrier that would prevent students from reaching the goal?" And then, as you start, apply strategies you are already familiar with to eliminate that barrier.
For example, you can always predict there will be students who will struggle with sharing what they know, so you can provide options to write or record audio or video. You can provide options for students to work with a partner, use a rubric or word bank, or revise work. Those are all UDL strategies! When asking students to learn new material, you can encourage them to take notes by either writing in their notebook, taking digital partner notes, or sketchnoting. Periodically, provide options for them to review their notes, share with a partner, or ask questions. All great options!
Consider one-size-fits-all lessons and how you can make them more flexible and build on them over time. Maybe set a goal to focus on one aspect of the UDL Flow Chart each week and then in PLCs, share what is working and borrow each other's ideas! Go slow to go fast! Think of "implement UDL" as "get in better shape." If you go out and walk for a half a mile, you are getting in shape. Over time, the distance will be longer and faster, but baby steps are the beginning of the process! You got this!
Q: As administrators, how can we increase staff ability to understand and implement UDL throughout the year?
If you are going to focus on UDL it may be great to share how a professional development plan will support it year round. For example, in addition to having professional development events or webinars, what is the plan to continue to support through faculty meetings, PLCs, educator evaluation, book clubs, etc. It will go a long way to share with staff, “This is important and this is how we are going to prioritize this throughout the year.”
It may also be valuable to create a district PD calendar that shows which months, meetings, PD days, etc. will be focused on UDL, equity, dignity, etc. so there is a scope and sequence for the work. Just as these scope and sequences are critical for our teachers, they also are great to continue to focus on the firm goals in our leadership practices and they can lead to much more effective faculty meetings as well when everything is integrated and connected to focus areas.
To learn more about designing PD the UDL way, check out one of the following resources:
- I am elated that I wrote book #10 with my dear friend, Mike Woodlock. Our book, UDL Playbook for School and District Leaders, provides concrete strategies for supporting educators in their UDL journey. If you grab a copy, we’d love for you to share your feedback with us!
- This tool helps you design professional learning experiences using the mindset of a UDL Practitioner.
- In 5 Essential Strategies for Planning Effective Professional Learning, Lainie Rowell and I agree that teachers should have a say in how they’ll meet learning goals, and schools need a clear way to determine that these goals are being met.
- Read 6 Tips for Setting Up Virtual Professional Learning Sessions the UDL Way!